Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Govt to Repatriate Afghan Refugees by 2012

Pakistan to Send All Afghan Refugees Home by 2012, China View, 27 July 2010

EXCERPT: "The Pakistani Senate was informed on Tuesday that some three million Afghan refuges, still living in the country, will be repatriated by 2012, official sources said. Pakistani Minister for Sates and Frontier Regions Najmuddin Khan told the upper house of the parliament that there are 1.7 million registered and more than one million unregistered Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan. Responding during the question hour session, he said that the Afghan refugees would completely be repatriated with honour to their own country by 2012. He said that a tripartite commission set up under the Tripartite Agreement between governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working for return and reintegration of Afghan refugees. Meanwhile, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik informed the House that Afghan refugees residing in different parts of the country especially in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhawa are involved in acts of terrorism and crimes."

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Related articles:
Asylum freeze having hardly any impact: Pakistan, ABC News, 21 July 2010

Related reports:
Afghan refugees in Pakistan: Push comes to shove, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan via the Human Security Gateway, 30 April 2009

Related posts:
Refugees pay price for war on Taliban, 30 March 2010
Afghan refugees allowed to stay longer in Pakistan, 25 March 2010
Displacement crisis far from over: UN, 7 January 2010
Refugees International: Protect people first, 26 October 2009

IDPs with Disabilities Lack Proper Facilities, Care

Life Tough for an IDP, Tougher Still for a Disabled IDP, Irin News, 22 July 2010

EXCERPT: "[...] Life is as hard for most of the disabled at the five remaining IDP camps in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which OCHA said house some 105,000 people. 'For those who are old or have problems with their mobility, it’s hard to get to the sanitation areas or to move beyond their tent blocks,' Faiz Uddin, a volunteer at Samarbagh Camp for IDPs in Lower Dir District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, told IRIN on the phone. He said most of these people could only manage 'because they received help from their families' and that few arrangements existed for them at camps. Some attempts have been made to change this. In 2009, the UK-headquartered charity Sightsavers carried out an assesment [see page 41] at Jalozai Camp for IDPs at Nowshera near Peshawar and identified 188 persons with disabilities. Along with its partner, local NGO Human Resource Development Society, Sightsavers was able to initiate a project to improve the social inclusion of the disabled by setting up sanitation facilities that offered them better access. 'In camps, the majority of disabled persons are excluded. Disability needs to be recognized as a cross-cutting issue in the implementation of service provision in the camps, like water and sanitation, inclusive education, literacy, etc,' Niaz Ullah Khan, country director of Sightsavers, told IRIN from Islamabad. 'All rehabilitation interventions in conflict areas should adopt universal accessibility standards.'"

Read the full story.
Read the full assesment [pdf].

Related reports:
From the perspective of vulnerable persons, persons with injuries/disabilities and older persons in the current IDP crisis in Pakistan: Participatory rapid need assessment report [pdf], Handicap International via OneResponse, May 2009

Related posts:
Aid program for IDPs under threat: UN, 18 May 2010
Pakistan displacement figures for 2009 at record high: Report, 17 May 2010
Psychologists warn of conflict's heavy toll on mental health, 13 May 2010
Fear, poor security hamper bomb victims' treatment, 10 February 2010
Inadequate international aid funding jeopardizes UN humanitarian projects, 12 April 2010

Kurram Agency Faces a "Humanitarian Crisis": Officials

Officials: Isolated Pakistani Region Faces Humanitarian Crisis, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 13 July 2010

EXCERPT: "I.A. Rehman, the chairman of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission, says that people in Kurram Agency are facing a humanitarian crisis. Jawad Hussain, a member of the National Assembly from Kurram, says the region has been cut off from the rest of the country for the last three years. He says various Taliban groups dominate the main route between Thal and Parachinar, which in turn connects Kurram with Pakistan's main urban centers. 'Our people are forced to travel through the hard and mountainous regions of Afghanistan to reach the cities of Peshawar and Islamabad of Pakistan,' Hussain says. [...] Last week, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying passengers from Parachinar to the provincial capital of Peshawar. [...] The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said in a recent report that it has become extremely difficult to provide relief to the sick in Kurram. It noted that medical supplies are becoming increasingly scarce and even hospitals have been attacked."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Congressional gridlock reaches to Pakistan's tribes [OpEd], The Washington Post, 15 July 2010
Fight against militancy: Still a long way to go, The Express Tribune, 12 July 2010
Pakistani tribesmen killed on "safe" Afghan diversion, BBC News, 10 July 2010

Related posts:
The missing dimension of Pakistan’s counterinsurgency policy, 13 July 2010
Border areas show signs of insecurity despite claims of progress, 9 July 2010
Army, tribal leaders offer conflicting views on reconstruction progress, 8 July 2010
Taliban regroup in areas thought secure, 24 June 2010
Govt to invest in border areas to tackle militancy, 31 May 2010

Lack of Assistance Angers Returning Bajaur IDPs

Lack of Assistance Angers Returning Bajaur IDPs, IRIN News, 27 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Thousands of people displaced by conflict in Bajaur Agency, one of seven tribal territories on the Pakistani-Afghan border, have returned to find damaged homes, limited services, sporadic fighting and little assistance from the government or UN agencies. 'The situation there [in Bajaur] is grim. There are shortages of food, prices fluctuate and medicines are often not available. I have come here [Peshawar] to buy some painkillers prescribed for my mother who has arthritis and a few other items so we can set up home again,' Wali Khan Uthmankhel, 40, said. Fighting between the army and militants had forced his seven-member family to leave their home in Khar, the principle town in Bajaur Agency, a year ago and find shelter in Peshawar, capital of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province. Like thousands of other internally displaced persons (IDPs), they returned to Khar in the past few weeks following announcements from provincial authorities and the military that most areas of Bajaur had been cleared of militants. The news led to the closure of two IDP camps in Lower Dir district in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and more than 4,000 IDPs returning from there, according to a 25 June update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). [...] The OCHA update said a funding crunch was limiting aid agencies’ ability to deliver assistance in some areas."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Pakistan starts resettling South Waziristan tribes, AFP, 27 June 2010
Mahsud elders want infrastructure in S Waziristan, The News International, 20 June 2010

Related posts:
Taliban "reappear" in Bajaur, issue threats, 16 June 2010
Aid program for IDPs under threat: UN, 18 May 2010
Pakistan displacement figures for 2009 at record high: Report, 17 May 2010
53 villages cleared in Bajaur, 20 April 2010
Peace returns to Bajaur, 17 March 2010

Pakistan Ranks 10th among "Failed States"

Pakistan Ranks 10th among "Failed States", DAWN, 22 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan was ranked the 10th most failed state in the world, just three places below Afghanistan, in a US survey released on Monday. Somalia tops the 2010 Failed States Index followed by Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Chad. The index issued by the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace, a Washington-NGO, ranks India 87th in a list of 177 countries. [...] The report notes that Pakistan has more than once been described as the world’s most dangerous country. Its wild northern reaches remain host to various branches of the Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda. More than three million Pakistani civilians were displaced by 'counterinsurgency' operations in 2009 — the largest single movement of people since the Rwandan genocide. [...] The continuing violence in Pakistan’s poorest and most remote regions makes it extremely difficult for food and medical supplies to reach the areas that need it most. Many parts of the country go without electricity and clean water; conditions are notoriously poor in the refugee camps in northern Pakistan. The human rights situation has improved significantly since 2008. The security apparatus indicator has also improved. In Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan local militias exercise significant control over their communities. In the tribal areas, the government’s authority is barely recognized. [...] The indicator for external intervention has worsened since 2008. Pakistan is the second-largest recipient of US foreign aid. The US is also using drone aircraft to attack Taliban and Al Qaeda sites within Pakistan."

Read the full story.
View the full Failed States Index.

Related posts:
Pakistan fifth most unstable country: Global Peace Index, 10 June 2010
Pakistan 10th in 2010 Impunity Index, 22 April 2010
Pakistan among top ten humanitarian disasters: Report, 23 December 2009
Pakistan slips five places in Transparency International Corruption Index, 18 November 2009
Pakistan 159th out of 175 in 2009 Press Freedom Index, 16 November 2009

Pakistan Still Hosting Largest Number of Refugees: UN

Few Of World's Refugees Opt to Go Home in 2009: UNCHR, Reuters Africa, 15 June 2010

EXCERPT: "The world's overall number of refugees - defined as those who flee conflict or persecution across international borders - was stable last year at 15.2 million. Developing countries were host to 80 percent of those refugees, led by Pakistan with 1.7 million, Iran with 1.1 million and Syria with an estimated 1.1 million. In addition to the 15.2 million refugees, there were also 27.1 million people internally displaced, becoming homeless without leaving their country, and another 983,000 people sought asylum in other nations. The total of 43.3 million forcibly displaced people in 2009 was the highest number since the mid-1990s, the UNHCR said. 'Persistent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan and Somalia mainly accounted for the increase in the overall figure,' its Global Trends Report found."

Read the full story.
Read the full report [pdf, 3.1MB].

Related articles:
UN wars slow refugee returns to record low, The Associated Press, 15 June 2010
Body set up to deal with Afghan refugees' problems, The News International, 11 June 2010
50,000 Afghan refugees return home so far this year, China View, 23 May 2010

Related factsheets:
UNHCR refugee statistics: full data, The Guardian // Data Blog, 15 June 2010
2010 UNHCR country operations profile: Pakistan, 2010

Related posts:
Aid program for IDPs under threat: UN, 18 May 2010
Pakistan displacement figures for 2009 at record high: Report, 17 May 2010
Refugees pay price of war on Taliban, 30 March 2010
Afghan refugees allowed to stay longer in Pakistan, 25 March 2010
Displacement crisis far from over: UN, 7 January 2010

Millions of Children Still at Risk in North-West: Report

Still at Risk: Internally Displaced Children's rights in North-West Pakistan, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, June 2010

EXCERPT: "Approximately two million children have fled their homes during the current emergency in north-west Pakistan. Starting in 2008 and continuing in mid-2010, fighting between Pakistan’s armed forces and militant groups has led to the internal displacement of more than 3.3 million people. The displacement has taken place amid continuing insecurity that has prevented humanitarian access to much of the affected region. While these two million children and their families received assistance from host communities, aid organisations, and internally displaced people (IDPs) themselves, displaced children nonetheless faced difficulties in accessing basic necessities and education, and remained vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. As many as two-thirds of these children have returned to home areas, but they and their families find themselves without basic services or substantial assistance."

Read the full report.

Related posts:
State of Pakistan's children worsening: Report, 4 June 2010
Instability and poverty place children at risk of sex work, 26 April 2010
Taliban brainwashing kids into killers: Military, 5 January 2010
Child, maternal health goals unlikely to be met: UN, 4 January 2010
The Taliban's war on schoolchildren, 4 December 2009

Aid Agency Closes Offices Following Kidnapping, Execution

Mercy Corps Leaves South Pakistan, BBC News, 15 June 2010

EXCERPT: "The US-based aid agency Mercy Corps is pulling out of two southern Pakistani provinces for security reasons. Nearly 50 offices in Balochistan and Sindh are to be shut. The decision follows the kidnapping of four of the agency's local staff in February, allegedly by pro-Taliban gunmen. One has since been killed and a ransom is sought for the others. Mercy Corps told the BBC that Pakistan's government had done little to help free the men. Its announcement follows similar decisions by other international aid organisations, including the UN, to scale back operations in Pakistan since 2009. [...] 'The decision has been taken following developments after the kidnapping of our team members,' Dr Saeedullah Khan, head of Mercy Corps operations in Quetta, told the BBC. He said a videotape of its employee being murdered had been sent to the organisation, with the ultimatum that the remaining three would also be killed unless a ransom of 100m rupees ($1.2m; £800,000) was handed over. 'We have protested strongly and are closing down 40 offices in Balochistan, and eight in Sindh province as a protest.'"

Read the full story.

Related articles:
BLUF claims issuing threats to ICRC, The Nation, 16 May 2010
ICRC cuts operations in Balochistan, DAWN, 15 May 2010

Related posts:
UN temporarily closes offices in Peshawar, 6 April 2010
Aid agency attacked, workers killed, 10 March 2010
NGO workers kidnapped in Balochistan, 19 February 2010
Embattled UN rethinking Afghan-Pakistan role, 6 November 2009

Aid Program for IDPs Under Threat: UN

UN: Aid Program in Pakistan Under Threat, VOA News, 17 May 2010 

EXCERPT: "Last year, more than three million people fled fighting in South Waziristan and other areas in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Most of these internally displaced people since have gone home. The United Nations estimates more than one million people remain displaced. U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan Martin Mogwanja says people are continuing to flee their homes because of ongoing military operations by the Pakistani government against Taliban militants in different parts of Northwestern Pakistan and he says U.N. aid agencies will need additional money.[...]The United Nations appealed for $537 million for humanitarian operations from February through July and only 26 percent of that amount has been received. U.N. Coordinator Mogwanja says this will have serious consequences for the aid operation. 'We have tried to the extent possible to preserve the life-sustaining operations-food aid, health, clean water supply and sanitation,' Mogwanja said."

Read the full story. 

Related articles:
UN kick starts project to improve food security in Pakistan, Daily Times, 18 May 2010  
Pakistan faces humanitarian funding crisis: UN official, People's Daily Online, 18 May 2010 
EU to finance Pakistan's food crisis, The Express Tribune, 17 May 2010 
UN sounds alarm on Pakistan aid, Daily Times, 1 May 2010 

Related posts: 
Pakistan displacement figures for 2009 at record high: Report, 17 May 2010
Humanitarian access still a challenge: Expert, 14 May 2010 
Inadequate international aid jeopardizes UN humanitarian projects, 12 April 2010 
Aid groups need $538 million to help IDPs, 9 February 2010 
Displacement crisis far from over: UN, 7 January 2010 
 

Pakistan Displacement Figures for 2009 at Record High: Report

Pakistanis Suffered Most Displacement in 2009, DAWN, 17 May 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan suffered the highest number of internally displaced people in 2009 due to the Taliban insurgency and Pakistan's military response, a United Nations study showed on Monday. The number of internally displaced people worldwide reached 27.1 million individuals in 2009, the highest number since records began in the mid 1990s, said the report. Out of a total population of 170 million, some three million Pakistanis were newly displaced in 2009, the most in the world and three times more than second-placed Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 'The military operations of governments and armed non-state actors caused most displacement, and many people were displaced more than once,' said the report, published by Norwegian Refugee Council, a non-governmental organisation."

Read the full story.
Read the full summary.
Read the full report [pdf].

Related reports:
PRCS IDPs operations update, Pakistan Red Crescent Society via ReliefWeb, 17 May 2010

Related posts:
Returnees' situation dire amid volatile security situation, 3 May 2010
More than 200,000 flee violence in tribal regions, 9 April 2010
Pakistan among top ten humanitarian disasters: Report, 23 December 2009
Returning IDPs face challenges despite aid, 9 December 2009
Ongoing displacement the single largest recorded in Pakistan: Report, 2 December 2009